Trevor May is the grandson of a coachbuilder who worked in Watford and Harrow around 1900. He is a professional historian and former teacher-trainer. 'Gondolas and Growlers', a study (based on his doctoral thesis) of the London horse-cab trade, was published in 1995. He has written ten other books, including seven other Shire titles.

The Hansom cab is one of the most striking images of the Victorian city, but it was not the only type of cab in use during the Victorian and Edwardian periods. Much of the work was done by the 'growler', a four-wheeled cab that rattled through the streets, laden with luggage and with families eager to catch a train. Trevor May travels through the streets of Victorian and Edwardian England to trace the origins of the horse cab and the improvements in its design throughout the period, and to celebrate the cab drivers themselves, who had a reputation for quick-wittedness and repartee equal to that enjoyed by today's taxi-driver.